It is common for drivers of cars to refer to written notes during times when the vehicle is in operation. In particular, drivers on occasion are required to refer to written travel directions when travelling to an unfamiliar location. It is usually dangerous to stop a vehicle on the shoulder of a road in order to refer to written notes since a stopped vehicle, particularly on a high speed highway, may be hit by other vehicles. Additionally, on some of the more rural roads which do not have any side shoulders or have side shoulders insufficient to fully accommodate a stopped vehicle, it is obviously dangerous for a driver to stop a vehicle or pull to the side of the roadway to refer to written directions since the vehicle will extend onto the roadway.
To void the above discussed problem, it is common, particularly in Europe, to mount a notepad to the windshield of a vehicle so that a driver may briefly glance at written notes on the pad when necessary. The notepad is generally mounted to the inner surface of the front windshield within the field of view of the driver, but in a position which does not obstruct the driver's direct line of sight. The driver may momentarily glance at the written directions while still concentrating the viewing the road conditions ahead.
The notepad holder also enables a driver to make written notes when the vehicle is momentarily stopped at a traffic light and the like. The notepad holder includes means for holding a writing implement so that both a pad and a writing implement are readily and conveniently accessible to the driver for making some brief notes. In this manner, the driver will not be concentrating on remembering his thoughts until the end of the trip and thus can devote his full attention to driving.
In the known devices for mounting a notepad to the windshield of an automobile, the notepad is generally mounted to a flat, rectangular base which includes a clamp for removably retaining the pad or other writing material. A suction cup is mounted to the upper end of the base, and the base and the writing pad are retained on the inner surface of the automobile windshield by suction. However, there are several disadvantages to this type of structure and the mounting arrangement. In the first instance, changes in environmental conditions, such as changes in temperature which may be experienced by a vehicle at different times of the day or in different geographical locations, will adversely affect the sectional forces holding the mounting structure to the inner surface of the windshield. If, for example, the base and the pad were to suddenly dislodge from the windshield, the driver of the vehicle might be surprised and react with a jerking motion which might result in a vehicular accident. Additionally, the effectiveness of the sectional arrangement varies with the surface of the windshield on which the backboard is mounted. Dirt, grease or grime will adversely affect the strength of the sectional engagement, rendering it difficult to mount the backboard to the inner surface of the windshield for prolonged periods of time. Moreover, the known suction cup type mounting devices mount the backboard to the inner surface of a windshield at only a single mounting position. Accordingly, if the single point of sectional contact fails, the entire base and pad will fall from the windshield. As noted above, if this occurs suddenly during the operation of a vehicle, it might surprise the driver and result in a dangerous condition.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved notepad holder to be mounted to the inner surface of the front windshield of an automobile.